


and i thee wed

by yutaeilbot



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Crying, Deployment, Eloping, M/M, Military, idk - Freeform, other characters mentioned yolo, please peep my notes lmao, proposal, slight angst, uhhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:15:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21623620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yutaeilbot/pseuds/yutaeilbot
Summary: He thinks about a week ago, when they were well rested, when Donghyuck could sleep a full night without waking up to a bed growing cold beside him as Johnny sat elsewhere and pondered pointlessly, before they jumped in Johnny’s old truck and drove the entire day, heading towards everything and nothing.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 21
Kudos: 69





	and i thee wed

**Author's Note:**

> hi hi howdy! first of all this only exists because of my darling parent [appia](https://twitter.com/appiarian)! it originated from a [thing they did](https://twitter.com/appiarian/status/1197732033969229824?s=20), and I have permission to use the concept and the ring line and the title and everything i swear lmao they encouraged this i am a thief but a thief with permission!  
> this is unbeta'd btw there is inevitably going to be mistakes feel free to like. idk dm me on twit or something if you spot one and want me to fix it sdlkfjlsdkj
> 
> also in typical claude style, there's crying  
> also also in not-yet-typical claude style, the end is just the beginning with a few subtle changes bc i like to end shit like that dslfsjdfkj

Sitting on the edge of the hotel bed, Johnny supposes he should be thinking about something else — his deployment date in a few weeks, his head pounding from lack of sleep, Donghyuck sleeping peacefully at his side, anything — but his mind can’t seem to stray from the ring. It’s a simple golden band, old but shining as if it were brand new, a single small diamond embedded in it. At some point it had belonged to his grandmother, or maybe his great aunt. The previous owner slips his mind every time he means to remember it, and his mother is far past being patient enough to tell him over and over again. 

His mother. 

She’ll be furious, he thinks, when they get the nerve to return home. 

_ “I’ve thought about your wedding since you were young,” she said, smiling that gentle smile specific to a mother. “You’ve always been a romantic. I’ve always known your wedding would be lovely.” _

He can’t remember why they had that conversation. What he can remember, though, was the way she smiled so gently, how her eyes seemed to sparkle, how she sighed dreamily as if seeing Johnny getting married was all she ever wanted. Maybe furious isn’t the right word; sad seems more along the lines of how she’ll react. Donghyuck’s parents are more likely to be angry. 

As if somehow knowing he’s being thought of in some capacity, Donghyuck tosses himself around harshly, squirming this way and that in an attempt to find comfort in the cold, scratchy hotel sheets. His hand absently pats around on the bed, no doubt searching for the warmth of Johnny to wrap himself up in as he was wont to do. He never could sleep well alone.

Johnny hides the ring in his wallet once more, the thin band barely bulging the worn leather enough to reveal itself, and slides easily back into bed to pull Donghyuck close, letting him nestle happily into his arms. It’s always felt nice, holding Hyuck like this. Since the first time they unceremoniously fell into bed together after he finally got home from university, fueled by feelings too-long held silent, an underlying buzz of alcohol neither of them should have drank, it’s just felt natural for Johnny to hold Donghyuck. 

“Stop,” comes Hyuck’s soft voice, thick with sleep. “Too loud.” 

At first, Johnny brushes it off as Donghyuck talking in his sleep, as he would sometimes do, but when Donghyuck cracks open an eye to look up at him, he knows he’s wrong.

“You’re thinking too much,” the younger says, snuggling up against him as much as he can. 

It’s late — or early, depending on how you want to look at it — but their temporary room is situated in the perfect place for a nearby streetlamp to shine uncomfortably into their room, no matter how tightly they close the curtains. The light illuminates a sliver of Hyuck’s face, just enough to highlight his own dark circles, the faintest hint of gold in his eyes. Their eyes meet and Donghyuck holds his gaze for a moment, almost as if he could absorb Johnny’s thoughts if they made eye contact for long enough, before wrapping his arms around the elder’s torso and burying his face into the familiar curve of Johnny’s neck. 

As Donghyuck’s breathing evens out once more, signaling his return to sleep, Johnny lets out a soft sigh. He knows he won’t be able to sleep, not right now, at least, and lets his mind wander. 

He thinks about a week ago, when they were well rested, when Donghyuck could sleep a full night without waking up to a bed growing cold beside him as Johnny sat elsewhere and pondered pointlessly, before they jumped in Johnny’s old truck and drove the entire day, heading towards everything and nothing. Even with the appearance of the dark circles, the exhaustion coloring both of their faces, Donghyuck’s eyes were still bright, still full of love, still sparkling with flecks of gold throughout warm brown. The ring, Johnny realizes, fits perfectly with the gold in Donghyuck’s eyes. A voice in the back of his head says he knew that all along, that he knew Donghyuck has always been the only one that ring could have possibly been meant for. 

Over the past few days, Johnny’s late night thoughts have taken a peculiar path; he thinks whatever current thoughts are readily available and then trails backwards. Sometimes it’s a memory of their first meeting, when Johnny paid him no mind and left for university, to study something he didn’t like and end up with a useless degree and more debt than he’d like to admit. He made some bad decisions in college, did some things he shouldn’t have, took some loans he didn’t need but pretended he did. 

Did you know if you agree to enlist in the military for at least three years, they help pay off your student loans? Johnny is well aware of this fact. 

In hindsight, he regrets enlisting. He feels trapped sometimes, bound by a duty he doesn’t fully believe in, unable to break the ropes holding his hands behind his back. There’s three weeks until Johnny ships out, three weeks left for them to pretend they’re on top of the world, three weeks for Johnny to hold Hyuck through the night, to whisper sweet nothings to him after a long day, to smile into their kisses and dance to no music in the kitchen of their shitty little apartment. 

The next day, they wake up too early — Johnny doesn’t even remember falling asleep — and get back on the road as quickly as possible. They stop at some run-down diner off the interstate for lunch and eat greasy cheeseburgers, laughing over bad jokes Donghyuck reads from a book he picked up at a rest stop. They’re about to leave when he asks the question.

“Do you have to go?” 

It’s spoken softly, like a secret Donghyuck is hesitant to share, and Johnny honestly doesn’t know what to say. 

He stands abruptly, throwing an appropriate amount of cash on the table stepping around it to tug Hyuck up by the hand. 

“C’mere,” he says, leading them both back outside to the truck. “I’m going to take you somewhere special, alright?” 

Donghyuck doesn’t answer, merely following along like a love-sick puppy as Johnny ushers him into the passenger seat and scurries around to jump in behind the wheel. 

A majority of the day passes driving, just like the previous day, but with much more… turning. Johnny knows where he’s headed, had known he wanted to take Donghyuck to the lake before this impromptu road-trip ever began. 

“Where are we going?” Hyuck asks after a few hours, looking around curiously at the passing scenery. 

“Secret,” Johnny answers. He flashes the younger a smile and reaches over to lightly grip his thigh. “I think you’ll like it.” 

Donghyuck doesn’t ask again, not even when Johnny stops at a rather decrepit store and demands Hyuck stay in the car only to reappear with his arms full of blankets that he unceremoniously dumps into the bed of the truck. He just stares at the elder curiously, tired eyes watching for any hint or give-away as they drive away once more. 

It’s mid-afternoon by the time they finally stop. Donghyuck is eager to stretch after sitting in the car for so long, but he doesn’t expect the view he gets after climbing from the truck. The sun reflects beautifully off of the still water of the secluded lake, a gorgeous mirror image of the clear sky above them. He forgets he even wanted to stretch, instead taking a few steps forward to gape properly at the scenery. 

“What is this place?” He asks when he feels Johnny’s presence beside him. He doesn’t look over, still transfixed by the view. “It’s beautiful.” 

“When we graduated, Taeyong, Yuta, and I drove out here like this. We didn’t pack much other than an obnoxious number of blankets and pillows. We slept in the bed of the truck. It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” Johnny explains, scooting over to stand behind Donghyuck, eager to wrap him in a tight embrace and rest his chin on the younger’s shoulder to share the scene together. “I thought I’d like to do it with you, too. I thought you’d like it here a lot.” 

They stand like that for a moment, basking in the afternoon sun, until Johnny turns Donghyuck to face him. Slowly, gently, like it’s their first, he leans down to kiss Donghyuck, just a soft press of their lips together before he steps back and fumbles for his wallet in his back pocket.

Hyuck raises an eyebrow as Johnny’s nervous hands poke around in his wallet until he pulls out an unfamiliar, thin gold band. 

“Johnny…?” 

“You told me you wanted me to do it properly, yeah?” The elder smiles at him, eyes adoring, before lowering himself onto one knee, uncaring of the dirt underneath him. “I’ve been saving it for the perfect moment. I always have been.” 

Hardly a moment passes between the moment Johnny gets down and the moment Donghyuck starts crying. The tears well up in his eyes and spill over before he even realizes it, and if it were any other moment, Johnny would be worried, but he knew this would happen. He knows Donghyuck well enough to know in advance that he would cry. He knows Donghyuck well enough to know he would have cried no matter where they were. 

“Lee Donghyuck,” Johnny begins, expression soft, voice soft, lifting the ring towards Hyuck. “I know we’re out here because we’re already planning on doing this, but you wanted a proposal and I’d be a fool to not give you everything. You know I’m yours forever. Will you be mine?” 

“Stupid,” Donghyuck chokes out, dropping to his knees in front of Johnny and crawling forward on them to grab his cheeks and kiss him once. “Stupid.” Twice. “I was yours before you even knew.” Three times. “You’d be a fool to not know that by now.” Four times. 

Johnny smiles against Donghyuck’s lips, and raises one of his hands to take Hyuck’s left from his face. They part for only a moment for the elder to slip the band onto the proper finger before embracing properly, arms tight around one another as Hyuck sniffles into the collar of Johnny’s shirt. 

Sunset finds them nestled into the blankets and pillows Johnny bought from that old as fuck store, snuggled together as if they were back home in Johnny’s bed, playing with each other’s fingers and talking about nothing and everything. It feels normal. It feels right. 

Sure, they’re  _ not _ back home in Johnny’s bed and Johnny, inevitably, leaves for active duty in a few weeks, but for the moment they’re… home. They’re home because they’re together, holding one another, happy and smiling, sharing kisses and any random thought that passes by. They’re home because they have each other, and that’s alright for now. 

Laying in the bed of his truck, Johnny supposes he should be thinking about something else — his deployment date in a few weeks, his mind going fuzzy from the promise of sleep, Donghyuck snuggled perfectly into his side, anything — but his mind can’t seem to stray from the ring. It’s a simple golden band, old but shining as if it were brand new, a single small diamond embedded in it. At some point it had belonged to his grandmother, or maybe his great-aunt, but now it rests snugly on the finger of Lee Donghyuck, where it’s always been destined to end up. The ring, Johnny knows, fits perfectly with the gold in Donghyuck’s eyes. 

**Author's Note:**

> ★ as always find me on [twitter](twitter.com/yutaeilbot) and [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/yutaeilbot) ★
> 
> pray for me while i finish my 00ff fic lmao


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